Solidarity with Strikers on the Hong Kong Docks 声援香港码头工人罢工

Hundreds Join Dockers’ Rally in Center

About a thousand people have braved heavy rain to join a rally outside the Cheung Kong Center to support a group of striking dockers who are demanding better pay and working conditions. Protesters urged tycoon Li Ka-Shing, who controls the port operator, Hongkong International Terminals, to hold talks with the dockers’ union over their demands. The strikers say their wages have remained unchanged for years and have demanded a 20 percent pay rise but so far with no result. More than a hundred workers had been camping outside the Cheung Kong Center. The crowd soon grew much larger as the rally got underway with students, labour groups, academics and nearby office workers showing up to lend their support. As the crowd swelled outside the building, police had to open up one lane of the road to accommodate the group. Unionist lawmaker, Lee Cheuk-yan, who has been assisting the strikers, said they were forced to take their grievances to Central. He pledged to carry on the struggle until the workers’ demands for decent wages and better working conditions are met. (RTHK)